Mauer Sad to Miss Watching Posey

Published Jun 23, 2011 at 7:13 AM

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Before the 2011 season began, the Giants matchup against the Minnesota Twins -- a two-game set that began on Tuesday (in a historically terrible manner) -- had to be considered pretty spicy, if only for one interesting "matchup."

That being Joe Mauer vs. Buster Posey, insomuch that they're actually playing each other anyway.

Posey was the reigning National League Rookie of the Year and Mauer was the reigning best offensive catcher in baseball many years running.

He was also kind of pumped to watch Posey play, but now that the Giants' stud catcher is out for the season, he won't get to.

And he's a bit disappointed.

"I was kind of excited when I saw San Francisco on the schedule - it was a chance for me to see Buster up close," Mauer said Tuesday, via John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. "He had a great start to his career and will be a good player in this league for a long time.

"It's unfortunate, considering what he means to this team," Mauer said. "You feel for him. I mean, he's 24 years old. He's still got a long career in front of him.

"I think he'll come back and be fine, and I look forward to it."

He's not the only one -- though the Giants are just a half-game back of the Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West after Tuesday's debacle against the Twins, it's not hard to think that if Posey were still around they might be in much better shape.